As many of you know, I’m about to make the transition from academia to real life. Just in the past 5 days, I have graduated, moved all my junk to a new place (still haven’t unpacked, ugh), and started a new a job all while also studying for the bar exam. Unfortunately, because I have to work full time while I’m studying for the bar, I have to stop doing all the things I love. Sadly, nail polish and blogging will have to go on the back burner until after the exam. Regular posting will resume around August 3rd – and I have a toooon of cool stuff to show you guys including all the spring and summer collections from China Glaze, Essie, OPI, Zoya, Barielle Shades and Color Club that I haven’t posted yet and also a ton of polish from Adoree, Orgasm Cosmetics, Eyeko, and many others. I know my blog has been very slow for about a month now and I do apologize, the last semester of law school was surprisingly difficult and this whole transition thing is extremely time consuming. I really hope you guys will stick with me through this tough period. : )
Much Love,
Stephanie
P.S. I wore Chanel Gold Fiction to my graduation as per one of your suggestions. Also, the stash survived the move with no casualties and I absolutely LOVE my new job. I have to say, it’s really weird to have my own office… I’ll even have my own secretary soon. Aaahhhh. I just can’t get used to it. haha. I haven’t had a chance to reply to emails or comments but I will try to get to it as soon as I have some free time. Bear with me!
]]>Tomorrow from 12 to 2 pm EST, you can get 50% off of all Rescue Beauty Lounge polishes if you buy at least one bath and beauty product, using the code Mea Culpa. I know a lot of you guys hesitate to buy RBL because of the hefty price so definitely take advantage of this amazing offer. Here are my swatches of some of Rescue Beauty Lounge colors.
]]>Zoya is releasing 2 new collections for the summer, Ooh-La-La and La-di-da. These will consist of 6 cremes and 6 metallics. I’m sure you’re wondering what these bad boys look like and that is what the hunt is all about.
My color is Dita from Ooh-la-la. 11 other bloggers have the 11 other colors.
Check out Casual Lavish, Vanessa has started a list of bloggers that have the other colors to help you with your hunting. Zoya is also twittering hints if you want to play along.
]]>In any case, on to the polish talk. Zoya’s newest collection Twist is delicate but edgy Spring installation. Zoya played it a little safe here. Most of these colors are what I consider traditional spring colors but I really love a few polishes from Twist. I had no application issues with any of these colors. All these images are 3 coat of color, 1 coat of base coat and top coat.
Cassi, a pinkish coral with glitzy multi-dimensional irridescent shimmer, is delicate with a twist. Zoya calls it peach, I disagree. This is the type of color I think of when I think of Spring.
Harley is a shimmery light gray. I’m a little bit at a loss as to how to describe the shimmer… it reminds me of concrete, course dark silver shimmer. I love it; Harley is definitely my favorite from this collection. It seems as though nail polish companies are finally jumping on the gray band wagon. Although I wish it had happened a little sooner, I do continue to love these shades.
Malia is a gorgeous lilac creme. This is my second favorite from this collection. Malia is a shade darker than OPI Do You Lilac It? and a few shades lighter than China Glaze Spontaneous (both of which can be seen here.)
Moxie, a vibrant deep raspberry, is another favorite from this collection. It reminded me a lot of the coveted OPI My Throne For a Cranberry Scone, but MTFaCS is actually darker than Moxie. Moxie is an excellent choice for anyone who hasn’t been able to get their hands on MTFaCS. The other potential dupe was China Glaze Designer Satin but it’s, surprisingly, brighter than Moxie.
Barbie is a good name for this color. It’s a Barbie pink with subtle pink shimmer (which didn’t show in my photograph at all). The shimmer is very similar to the shimmer found in China Glaze Pink Underground but the base color of Pink Underground is deeper than Barbie’s base color.
Finally, Jo is a periwinkle blue with silvery blue shimmer. This picture is a little more blue than the actual color which is lighter (I apologize, photographing blues and purples is still extremely difficult even with my new camera and lighting set up.) The base color is similar to China Glaze Secret Peri-wink-le but Jo has a depth to it that comes from the shimmer.
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(Click here to see massive image.)
Their names are Front Row Diva, Runway Muse, Vintage Couture, Ready to Wear, Fashion Addict and Catwalk Queen. I’m really digging the holo, 2nd to the right. I know a lot of you were hoping that the Color Club spring collection would be those amazing Japanese exclusive glitters but unless they are releasing an additional collection it’s not looking to good for us, at least not this season. *kicks dirt*
Edit: Here’s the link to the Japanese site that has the glitters: Nail Nail Forsythe It’s the third collection from the top.
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I wish it was socially acceptable for men to wear nail polish. I think the new niche market would give nail polish companies far more latitude to generate unique colors. Take ManGlaze, for example, that company specializes in matte finish polish marketed for men. I would love to see all companies tap into different colors and finishes. My support for gender equality when it comes to nail polish is why I love to see articles like this one by Darren Garnick. Darren not only got a fish pedicure, a brave feat in and of itself, but also chose OPI Osaka to Me Orange instead of just a clear coat. Darren’s been all over the nail polish blogosphere lately with his interesting nail polish related articles1 which are all linked on Scrangie’s blog. Darren is helping to bridge the gender gap by writing about polish, I think that’s really great. If you do too, you should drop him a line and tell him to keep fighting the good fight.
- He was just kidding when he called me “one of the most influential nail polish bloggers in America.” Haha. ↩
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I go to law school in small town in North Florida. Our local beauty shops are pitiful so most colors I either buy blind or based on online swatches. Even the chain beauty shops are severely lacking so there’s really no hope for seeing new collections in person. This is one of the reasons I was so excited to return to my native South Florida to do my summer internship for the State Attorney’s Office. South Florida is like the nail polish promised land, really.
I stayed with my parents this summer. My mother has come to accept and, even, take pride in my nail polish collecting so she would on occasion humor me by stopping at malls on the way home from work (we carpooled). Most of the time she would go run other errands and let me traipse through beauty shops on my own. For me, beauty shops that carry nail polish are like magical wonderlands, I can easily occupy myself for hours literally – this ability, I’m sure, seems really suspicious to shop attendants. And that’s where the story that prompted this post begins.
Like I said, my mom would drop me off at these beauty shops on our way home from work and since I worked for the State, I wore a suit and a yellow very ‘official’ looking name tag. If anyone had bothered to look closer, they would have seen that my title was “volunteer”. But no one did, so I just walked around looking like someone important. In my suit, I could browse beauty shops forever unimpeded. I rarely buy anything, only because I pretty much refuse to pay full retail for nail polish with few exceptions. But I definitely do buy when there is sale so I like to visit beauty shops often. Most of the time, shop attendants would either be annoyingly attempt to be over-helpful (which is silly, of course, not to sound like an jerk, but beauty shop sales associates are NOTORIOUSLY uninformed when it comes to nail polish and well… uh… I’m disgustingly well-informed) or they would just smile and leave me to my own devices.
One particular shop, which also happened to be the shop that had the most nail polish and required the most browsing, was attended by a small boy with a wispy mustache and red highlighted hair that dangled over his eyes. Think: beauty shop emo.
The first time I went to the store in a suit, he smiled and let me browse. The next time, he asked me, “What do you do for a living?” I replied, “Actually, I’m just a student now, I’m interning with the State Attorney’s Office.” He didn’t know what the State Attorney’s Office was or what they did. Despite my best efforts to explain that State Attorneys prosecute crimes, I don’t think he really understood the purpose of the office or my role at the office. He asked, “Okay, I get that you want to be a lawyer but, like, what do you do right now?” I explained that I interned for the homicide and major crimes division and that my boss was responsible for trying high profile homicides in our area. Shocked, he said, “So uh, you have to look at pictures of dead bodies and stuff?” I said, “Well, yea, crime scenes and autopsies.” Then I looked away back to nail polish.
I wasn’t so much annoyed by the exchange as I was interested in discontinuing the communication in order to further pursue my nail polish browsing. I didn’t really understand why he was talking to me, I figured that he was bored, and that was fine, but my mom would be back soon – the clock was ticking on my browsing time. Then he said, “You know, I could never do that… .” “Do what” I thought as I looked back at him. He said, “Oh no, looking at dead bodies, no no no.” He looked around, then he whispered in an ‘I see dead people’ sort of way… “I’m a… a… sensitive.” My inner monologue was as follows: “You’re a WHAT? – Where is this conversation going? Oh, for Pete’s… geez, really? I just want to look at nail polish – why does something like this ALWAYS happen.” So I let him tell me about his ‘gift’ and I politely listened. He was harmless enough and I told myself I could just come back on another day to browse some more.
And I did, this time, not in a suit because it was a weekend. My mom and I were shopping for sensible work shoes because the ultra high heeled ball-crushers I had been wearing were only cool for about a minute. It took just one walk from the court house to the office to convince me that something less fierce would be more pragmatic. I was wearing my typical weekend type stuff, jeans, shirt, sweater, sneakers, etc. My mother wore something similar. I didn’t look like a complete ragamuffin but it wasn’t one of my more fashionable days. The minute, and I really mean, the exact minute we walked into the store the same attendant moved from behind the counter, where he had stood for the entire duration of our previous exchange. My mother and I made our way to the OPI kiosk and he quickly made his way over to us and began to hover. I worked retail all throughout high-school and part of college so I knew exactly what he was doing – he thought we were shoplifters.
This was offensive to me on so many levels. First of all, I was with my Mother. MY MOTHER. Who on Earth would steal cosmetics in the presence of their MOTHER. Especially my poor dear wonderful Mother, the hardest worker known to man, so innocent in her existence that she gets upset with me when I blaspheme even though we’re not religious. Second, I’m a nail polish is my hobby – why would I ever steal nail polish? Third and most importantly, he hadn’t treated me this way when I was wearing an expensive suit, heels and a fancy yellow name tag. So what the hell?
It occurred to me that he might have reacted that way because of my race – maybe he couldn’t get passed my dark skin unless I was wearing a suit. I attempted to dissuade him by explaining that I like to compare colors because I own so many and I smiled. He gave me an eat-shit-and-die look and continued to hover. Well, at that point he wasn’t hovering anymore, he was just standing over us, staring at us. I understand that guarding against merchandise shrinkage is part of his job. After all, in the past, it had been my job. However, his demeanor was so incredibly offensive and rude that it actually made us feel uncomfortable. I felt like I was doing something wrong. I left the store, feeling almost ashamed of my existence.
Later, I told my Supervising Attorney about the experience, and explained that I’d had a similar experience at a Chanel counter even though I was actually making a purchase. I told him that I felt that if I were white, I wouldn’t be treated that way. He didn’t think it was a race issue – “When you’re in your suit, high heels, and those Gucci sunglasses you have, you’ll never be treated that way even though you’re Latin.” “I know” I said, “that’s because social class trumps race.”
Image from Second City Style.
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Can you BELIEVE she did that free-hand! E. used OPI Birthday Babe for 9 nails then hand painted a Hope sign on her pinkie using acrylic paint, which is pure genius. She covered the art with Essie Carnival. Thank you for sending this in to me.
And finally, the Franken Polish contest: I’m not just saying this gratuitously, it really was difficult picking a winner because we had so many truly great entries. Every polish entered was a color that I would, personally, love to own. Ultimately Scrangie, Dami, and I chose individuals winners and then I tallied all our votes and these are the results.
The runner-up is Sminkan with her amazing entries “Updated Color Club Groove Thang” and “Divine Purple“. Sminkan’s prize will be the Color Club Best of the Best Mini Set.
And drum roll please…
The winner is… Weedita! Entering a green was a nearly sure fire way to win this contest and Weedita did just that with her to-die-for creation “Green Tea Sparkle“. Weedita used 75% Color Club Naughtycal Navy, 20% Pure Ice Heartbreaker, and 5% Color Club Explosive. (For recipes to all the entries, please see the comments section of the “The Frankenpolish Contest” post.) Weedita’s prize will be the entire Color Club Glitter Vixen collection.
I want to thank everyone who participated, it was so much fun checking out all your entries. : )
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As you can see from my two poor konad attempts, I’m still on the low end of the curve. I love the konad but, sadly, it does not love me back. One.. day… one day… my konadicures will look right. I don’t use my konad very often only because I really love unadulterated nail polish. That’s the reason why you don’t see me layering very often either. The first time I wear any color, I like to wear them in their pure form, then if I get bored I might pull out the konad or a layering polish.
If you’re konad deficient like I am check out these links (Mastering the Konad and How to use a Konad stamper) for helps hints and instructions.
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Color Club Urban Edge is a pinkish tan. It’s not hard to apply but it has a chalky consistency and it’s definitely a thee to four coater. Three of the six colors in this collection are pink toned tans that get incrementally darker and less pink. When I saw the three colors (the other two are pictured below) I immediately thought of OPI Dulce De Leche. The difference between these tans and Dulce de Leche is the pink tone, which Dulce de Leche does not have.
Color Club Diva in Brown is slightly darker and deeper than Urban Edge. The application was better than Urban Edge but it took four coats to reach opacity.
Color Club Out and About is slightly darker and deeper than Diva in Brown. This one had excellent application, it’s a two to three coater.
Color Club Golden Girl is probably my favorite from this collection. It’s a gorgeous tannish gold with a slight pink undertone and very complex shimmer that flashes mostly gold and green but you can see bronze as well. I think this color would work really well for people who feel that they can’t wear true golds. It’s very flattering. This is three coats.
Color Club Black-ish is a deep plummy reddish brown with the same complex shimmer found in Golden Girl. This is three coats but it applies very well, I think most people could get away with two coats.
Finally, Color Club Haute Couture is a vampy plummish brown. Gorgeous. This is a 2 to 3 coater, this swatch is 3 coats.
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Pama Liqueur, makers of pomegranate flavored liqueur (yum), have teamed up with Essie for November’s National Pomegranate Month to create a gorgeous deep pomegranate red polish. I’ll have swatches and a review of this color soon but you can get your own free bottle of the limited edition Essie Pama right now by signing up on Pama’s website.
As a side note, if you love pomegranate as I do, poke around on Pama’s website after you sign up for the free polish. In addition to a recipe for Pomegranate Mimosas, they have step by step instructions on how to open a pomegranate. I always knew I was doing it wrong.
]]>We’re also still running the Give Us Zulu Campaign! If you haven’t signed it the petition yet, please do so! If you feel the way I do about Zulu, get the word out!
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What is a frankenpolish?
Basically, you take two more polishes and combine them to create a new color. That’s just the beginning: girls use clear polish, make-up pigment, glitter, etc., to create new looks. The possibilities are pretty much endless.
So, how does this contest work?
(1) Create a frankenpolish using any Color Club polish or product. You can use other brands as long as you use at least one Color Club product as a component of your creation.
(2) Post a swatch of your polish, it’s name, your recipe for the color, and a little blurb about your creation in the comments section of this entry. Your entries will be judged by myself and 2 other mystery nail polish bloggers. Judging will be based on creativity of color and design and, of course, the judges’ personal tastes.
(3) You will win extra points if you take a picture of your best mad scientist pose, holding up your franken bottle, screaming “it’s ALIVE! ALIIIIIIIIVE!”
(4) The last day to submit an entry will be October 15th.
Prizes?
Yup! The winner will receive the entire Color Club Glitter Vixen Collection. 1 runner up will receive the Color Club Best of the Best mini set (contains Honey Bee, Just Chill, Special Effects, and Killer Curves). I’ll have swatches of these colors up before the contest is over!
Franken away! *evil cackle*
Side note: This is my 100th post! Wooo.
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I can’t take it anymore! Zulu is being scalped on ebay again. Two weeks ago it sold for $76! It’s never going to stop and Zulu is the lemming that is never going to die. The Polish Addict hereby declares war on Nars. We’re launching a guerilla style campaign for the re-release of this god forsaken color. As a part of the ‘Give Us Zulu’ (G.U.Z.) campaign we ask that you guys sign the petition! Email nars! Link them to the ridiculous ebay auctions! Give them a piece of your mind! Hopefully they will finally appease their loyal customers by giving us what we want! GIVE US ZULU!
If you have a blog, site, facebook, anything please spread the word! Also you can read my previous tirade on this subject here.
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